Protest Against Chinese Government Builds In Wuhan

Dozens of shop owners in Wuhan, China, gathered outside of one of the city’s largest malls on Friday demanding rent relief after months of strict regulations sapped business and bank accounts.

The demonstration is a sign of civil unrest brewing under the authoritarian regime of the Chinese Communist Party. Small business owners have been sitting outside of the Grand Ocean Department Store since quarantine was lifted from the city on Wednesday chanting “exempt rental for a year, or refund the lease,” according to Bloomberg.

Police assigned to monitor the protest assaulted some of shop owners on Wednesday, but have since left them alone, one demonstrator said. Videos of the protest, posted to Chinese social media, have since been removed.

In March, Chinese police forces on the shared border of Jiangxi and Hubei provinces fought for control of the border. Jiangxi forces clashed with Hubei police to keep the border closed to people fleeing the epicenter of the coronavirus. Wuhan is in Hubei province.

Last year, protests rocked Wuhan as thousands of demonstrators clashed with police over a proposal to build an incinerator to clean up mounds of trash that were growing around the city and in landfills. At the time, Chinese officials appeared to take the concerns of the residents seriously by “guarantee[ing] the participation rights” of citizens in public announcements, according to The New York Times.

Riot police and plainclothes officers were sent to monitor and crack down on protests while police with vans arrested and carried away those that were organizing the demonstrations online, according to protestors.

Tensions are growing around the world as governments use heavy methods to keep people from interacting in order to slow the spread of the virus. In Italy, the government has increased police presence in the south to prevent looting as people grow desperate for relief from strict regulations.

As Bloomberg reports:

“Police have been deployed on the streets of Sicily’s capital, Palermo, amid reports gangs are using social media to plot attacks on stores. A bankrupt ferry company halted service to the island, including vital supplies of food and medicines. As the state creaks under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic, officials worry the mafia may be preparing to step in.”

In Kenya, several deaths have been blamed on police brutality as officers enforce strict curfews across the country with tear gas and batons. In South Africa, police are using rubber bullets against crowds to enforce coronavirus regulations and lockdowns.

The stress of dealing with the coronavirus has also caused divisions between governments. Politicians and experts worry that the strain of combatting the pandemic will irreparably fracture the European Union. Italy criticized E.U. leaders last month after member countries were slow to respond to a plead for aid.

Since then, the bloc has presumably agreed to work together to aid the worst-hit countries, but leaders have not been able to agree how aid should be distributed and what steps should be taken to restore shattered economies after the pandemic is contained, according to The Washington Post.

“There is no doubt that if our response isn’t strong and unified, if Europe fails to come up with a monetary and financial policy adequate for the biggest challenge since World War II, for sure not only Italians but European citizens will be deeply disappointed,” Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told BBC.